Watertown's Former Five-Term Mayor Offers His Take on Life in the North Country and Beyond

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Goofy Weather Channel Wants to Name Winter Storms

This is so lame*...Naming winter storms like we do hurricanes ? The Weather Channel should tell us the weather and stop making theater out of Mother Nature....It's only the weather....happens every day.
* Due to a request from a Syracuse television station I changed use of the word "gay" to the synonym "lame". From dictionary.com Slang: Often Disparaging and Offensive . awkward, stupid, or bad; lame: This game is really gay.

You know I have admired your blog and, heck, even contributed to your campaign, but using the word "gay" the way you did is simply offensive and deserves an apology, not a convoluted explanation citing to dictionary.com.

I know you are not homophobic, but use of the word in that way sends a bad message to gay people, including the many young gay people in Watertown struggling with their sexual orientation.

I hope you issue a clear, unequivocal apology for what I do believe was a mistake - albeit not a mean spirited or intentional one - in using the word in that manner.

If you think using an accepted definition of a word is 'convoluted', what business do you have running for the 'convoluted' business of a political office? The manner in which he used it was not in any way mistaken, rather your slanted interpretation of it lacking any sort of rational context.

Countless pro athletes have apologized for calling things "gay" in the same way the Mayor did, appreciating that it can be hurtful. There's a whole web site dedicated to stopping that at http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com

The BBC covered it in a piece about how "gay" has become children's insult of choice: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7289390.stm

The NY Times covered it in a piece "Gay or Stupid? One’s Still an Insult" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/nyregion/gay-or-stupid-one-of-these-is-still-an-insult.html?_r=0

When gay kids continue to commit suicide because of bullying and taunting, why use a deragotory slang term that some people find hurtful? Just use another one.

I agree with Brian McGrath that the Mayor isn't anti-gay. He just chose the wrong word.

6:19 - The context it is being used has nothing to do with homosexuality, no more than it has to do with the other definition that means 'happy'. It IS an accepted definition. That it is considered 'offensive' is by a certain demographic retroactively taking 'ownership' of a word and attributing malice when none was intended.

But, you are right. People are now being forced to apologize for other people's ignorance.